Frontier Airlines will add three new flights to and from San Diego International Airport ( SAN ) this summer, bolstering its presence in Southern California. Starting June 12, the budget carrier will fly between SAN and Chicago’sO’Hare International Airport ( ORD ) daily. The next day, Frontier will begin operating four flights each week between SAN and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport ( AUS), as well as three flights per week from SAN to Salt Lake City International Airport ( SLC ). The new planes bring Frontier’s overall amount of routes from San Diego up to eight. The airline currently operates service from SAN to Denver International Airport ( DEN), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport ( DFW), Las Vegas ‘ Harry Reid International Airport ( LAS ), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ( PHX ) and San Francisco International Airport ( SFO ). Airline war: Frontier tries to kidnap Southwest flyers with free-bag deal” We are thrilled to declare these three additional routes as we continue to grow our appearance in San Diego”, Josh Flyr, Frontier’s system lead, said in a statement. While Frontier evidently believes there’s lots of require between the city pair, it’s not only, the ship will encounter steep opposition on each of the routes. For example, there are already 220 planes in each course between SAN and SLC for June, according to statistics from Cirium, the planes are operated by Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines and, most copiously on the route, Delta Air Lines, which accounts for 146 of those planes. However, there are about 270 planes in each course between SAN and ORD, flown by American Airlines and United Airlines. However, Frontier usually takes a technique similar to other ultra-low-cost ship Spirit, offering a stripped-down, bare-bones product at a low price while competing immediately against legacy carriers. This differs from other airlines like Breeze Airways that prefer to avoid direct competition by operating between city pairs with no existing nonstop service. However, the strategy of competing with no-frills and low fares has been hit hard in recent years, as the legacy airlines have introduced and fine-tuned their own basic economy options. In response, budget carriers, including Frontier, have taken a page out of the legacies ‘ book, offering more options and services. For instance Frontier allows passengers to pay to block middle seats in their rows, giving them more space, along with extra legroom. The airline also recently announced that it will begin offering first-class seats later this year. Spirit— which Frontier has expressed interest in acquiring — is shaking up its offering with new segmented fares and cabins. Time will tell whether the new routes work for Frontier, though we likely won’t have to wait very long: Frontier is famous for pulling new routes almost as quickly as it launches them, preferring to read initial market signs and cut its losses instead of taking time to see if a new market can develop. Related reading:
